Alamo's Long Barrack savior to get her due

More than 100 years after Adina De Zavala barricaded herself in the Alamo's Long Barrack to save it from destruction, the pioneering Texas preservationist will be honored with a portrait that will be placed in the historic structure.

Commissioned by the Alamo Mission Chapter of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, the portrait will be dedicated at 2 p.m. today in the Alamo Hall.

Chapter president Sharon Skrobarcek characterized the honor as an overdue goodwill gesture.

“A number of our members have felt that we've not done enough for Adina,” she said. “When we made it known that we were doing this, it became clear that we had struck a strong chord with many of our Hispanic DRT members, but also with all of our members. The enthusiasm has grown.”

Observers said the portrait is part of a sea change within the DRT, long accused of not recognizing Tejano contributions to Texas history.

“It is another historic event in the history of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas,” said Texas historian Felix D. Almaraz, who'll speak at the event.

“This organization, under the leadership of Karen Thompson, is turning a new page,” he said. “It is recognizing that (De Zavala), too, made contributions comparable to those of Miss Clara Driscoll,” an early DRT member remembered as “the savior of the Alamo.”

De Zavala, granddaughter of Lorenzo De Zavala, the first vice president of the Republic of Texas, is cited for her efforts to preserve San Antonio's Spanish colonial missions and the Spanish Governor's Palace.

She had a contentious relationship with Driscoll in the early days of the DRT, in part, over the preservation of the Long Barrack, the oldest building at the Alamo.

According to the Texas Historical Association, a faction led by Driscoll wanted to tear the building down, mistakenly believing it was erected after the 1836 battle.

De Zavala barricaded herself in the structure for three days in February 1908 in her successful battle to save it.

The portrait isn't the DRT's first olive branch to De Zavala's work. Several years ago, the Alamo Couriers Chapter, another San Antonio DRT group, spearheaded an effort to place a historical marker at De Zavala's grave site, said Melinda Navarro, DRT Alamo Committee Chairman.

Still, fans of De Zavala have noted how little recognition she has received on the grounds, while Driscoll's portrait has been hanging in the Long Barrack for 25 years — in a structure she battled De Zavala to raze, believing it wasn't historically significant.

The Driscoll portrait, donated to the Alamo in 1966, was put in the Long Barrack in 1987, Navarro said.

De Zavala's portrait, painted by Stuart Seal, will be placed in the same structure, though an exact spot has not been determined. The painting depicts her seated in front of the 1910-era Long Barrack, when it was two stories high.

Alamo Mission Chapter member Cece Cheever of Cheever Books underwrote the cost of the painting, which will be on loan to the Alamo and will remain property of Alamo Mission Chapter.

Skrobarcek said she hoped the dedication will help the DRT “to start anew, to start fresh and to build relationships.”

Her chapter has commissioned a second De Zavala portrait it hopes will hang in the Alamo Hall in an exhibit that will pay tribute “to the early days of the DRT, the saving of the Long Barrack and the respective roles of Adina De Zavala and Clara Driscoll with the preservation and restoration of the Alamo.”